ICC Rankings: India remains No 1 ODI side after annual update

Defending ICC Cricket World Cup champion India has retained its position as the number-one ranked ODI side after the annual update of the Reliance ICC ODI Rankings Table was announced on Friday.

The annual update was released after the tri-series in the West Indies, featuring the host, India and Sri Lanka, ended on Thursday. India won the tri-series after beating Sri Lanka by one wicket in a thrilling finale.

India, which recently won the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, has been in the number-one position since February 2013, when it beat England 3-2 at home to regain the top place.

India have been in very good form in ODIs. AP

At the June ICC Board meeting, the ICC Board agreed to change the ODI rankings period from three years to four years to ensure that all ODIs played over the four-year cycle between ICC Cricket World Cups count towards a team’s ranking at the next event.

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 will be a ten-team event, and only the top eight sides on the Rankings Table will gain automatic qualification. The other teams will have to battle for a place via the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in 2018.

The ICC Board also decided that the annual update to the Test, ODI and T20I rankings should now take place on 1 May each year, rather than 1 August, to better align with the current international calendar. This change has been incorporated in the latest update, and has been backdated to 1 May 2013.

The updated table now reflects all ODI matches completed after 1 August 2010. All ODI matches played until the start of May 2014 will be added to this table, so that by May 2014, the ratings will be based on just under four years of results.

As a result, Australia and England have swapped places after the annual update.